Anywhere But Here

by Stephanie Hoffman McManus

I sucked in a sharp breath as Cammie pulled the laces tighter on the corset. “You know I have to be able to breathe,” I reminded her.

  “Beauty is pain.” Another pull and then she tied it off and tucked it.

  “Easy for you to say, you won’t be the one with broken ribs. Your dress zips.”

  She laughed, and spun me around. “Quit complaining. The dress looks killer on you. You can breathe after the dance.” She walked me over to the full length mirror that hung on the back of my bathroom door. “See, totally worth it, right.”

  Pale, dusty pink chiffon cinched around my bust in a strapless sweetheart cut and empire waist that flowed out loosely to my knees. The color looked good against my pale, barely sun-kissed complexion. What few rays I’d managed to soak up over the summer had already faded, leaving me looking like a porcelain doll. I’d long since accepted I would never have the skin of a California beach babe that Cammie somehow managed to get here in South Carolina and hang on to most of the year. I suspected she spent more time in the tanning beds than she let on, even though I tried to tell her she would regret it later in life.

  “I still think you could loosen it up a little,” I grumbled.

  “No way. Do you see how good your boobs look?”

  I’d give her that. Everything was definitely pushed up.

  “Jeremy’s going to lose his mind.” She winked conspiratorially.

  “I don’t know. He really hasn’t seemed all that into this dance thing.”

  “He’s just being a typical guy, but you watch his face when he sees you.”

  My shoulders slumped a little on a sigh. “If you say so.” Things had been off between us for a couple weeks, ever since our little fight.

  Cammie spun me around to face her. “You guys aren’t having more problems are you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is this still because you think he cheated? I told you, Jeremy wouldn’t do that to you. He’s crazy about you. You’re lucky to have him. Most of the girls in our class would kill to be in your shoes.” It wasn’t the first time she’d made me feel guilty for doubting my relationship with Jeremy. I wished I could be as sure as she was. I still partly blamed Kellen for planting the seeds of doubt. It made things a little tense and awkward between us in class until we both agreed that we’d leave Jeremy out of our partnership. He wouldn’t bring him up and neither would I. It’d worked alright so far and we were getting along better than I would have thought.

  Outside of class he still did everything he could to push Jeremy’s buttons, but he stopped using me to do it. They found plenty of other reasons to fight and I just stayed out of it. There was no point in me trying to play referee. Jeremy wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say about Kellen anyway. I just avoided talking to him about it as much as possible, but I always let him know when we were getting together outside of school, which had only happened twice since the first time. Jeremy would get in a pissy mood, but then he’d get over it.

  Tonight would hopefully be a good time for both of us. Kellen wasn’t coming to the dance, and had actually laughed when I asked him if he was. It’d be just the two of us having a good time with our friends.

  “You’re right. Tonight’s going to be fun.” I started to tuck a curl behind my ear, but Cammie swatted my hand.

  “Unh, unh, uh. Don’t touch the masterpiece.” We’d both spent over two hours in the stylist’s chair today getting our hair, nails and make-up done to red carpet status. My hair was pulled into a half up, side wrap-around braid with the rest falling over my shoulders and down my back in loose spirals. I was pretty sure I had my own personal hole in the ozone now, courtesy of Paul Mitchell, and enough bobby pins that I was confident my hair could withstand hurricane winds. I had to admit as I took another glance in the mirror, the effect was … pleasing.

  Side by side, me in pink and Cammie in a dark blue, clingy, thigh length number, with her hair pulled into a fancy side twist, we were definitely worthy of two homecoming princesses. All we had to do was add our tiaras.

  She placed her arm around my shoulder, careful not to disturb the hair, and gently leaned her head against mine. “This is our last homecoming.”

  “I know. It feels like it was just last year that we were going to our very first one.”

  “Ah, our first dance. That was so much fun, but tonight … tonight is going to be epic.” She grinned and squeezed me and I squeezed her back. Then she released me and retrieved her phone from her cleavage. “Now smile, bitch!”

  We both flashed cheesy grins and she snapped a picture of us in the mirror. Normally picture taking would fall to our moms, but mine was … I didn’t even know where she was tonight. Some dinner or function that was more important than being here. Cammie’s mom would have done it, but she was a nurse at the hospital and worked more than she was home. Same with her Dad. He was a bank manager married to his job. At least her parents had a better excuse for being absent all the time. But we survived, fending for ourselves, and taking care of each other.

  We continued making faces and posing in front of the mirror while she snapped pictures until her phone chimed with a text from the guys that the limo was here.

  “Couldn’t even come to the door. Boys.” She rolled her eyes and then we both grabbed our clutches. I stepped into my glittery, nude, peep toe heels which added about three inches to my height, and managed not to trip in them going down the stairs.

  The rest of the group had already been picked up and they all piled out of the limo so the driver could take group pictures. There were six of us in total, three couples. Josie was riding with us since she and Josh were a thing now, and Cammie was going with Matt even though he’d only recently broken up with Amber and they weren’t officially a couple. The way he looked at Cammie though, it was obvious he wanted to change that, or maybe he just wanted to see her out of that dress. Knowing her, he probably would before the night was over.

  I grinned and let my gaze fall on Jeremy, looking handsome in his grey vest suit over a pink dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows, that matched the color of my dress perfectly. His eyes lit up as he took me in.

  “You look gorgeous, babe.” He pulled me to him and didn’t let go all through the picture snapping until we were climbing in the back of the limo. I slid in beside him and he tucked me into his side.

  We stopped off and had a fancy dinner at one of the best seafood places in the area and then it was a quick drive to the school, or at least it felt that way in the back of the limo, the music pumping, laughing with my friends. When we pulled into the school parking lot, Josh, Jeremy and Matt opened up the roof and stuck their heads out.

  “Seniors rule!”

  “Go Tigers!”

  There were hollers and cheers from other students walking into the dance, and as soon as the limo came to a stop and the driver opened the back door for us, everyone climbed out. I started to follow, but was tugged backwards into Jeremy’s lap.

  “Hold on, I just want to kiss my girl.”

  I was happy to oblige, but warned him to watch the hair. He chuckled and cupped his hand behind my neck, dragging my mouth to his. He tasted like mint laced with alcohol and I pulled away, narrowing my eyes on him admonishingly. “Mr. Black, have you been imbibing this evening.”

  He gave me a cheeky grin. “Maybe just a little drink with the guys to get the night started, but that’s all.” I rolled my eyes and dropped another kiss on his mouth before attempting to extricate myself from the limo to join our friends, but I was pulled back again.

  “Where do you think you’re going? I wasn’t done with you yet.” He took my mouth again and his hands started sliding places I wasn’t comfortable with, like up my legs and under my dress.

  I swatted his hands away. “Behave,” I took his bottom lip between my teeth and bit down playfully. He pinched my bottom in return, making me nearly jump off his lap. His chest vibrated with laughter.

  “How can I behave when you look so fucking hot and tempting in
that dress?”

  “Come on, let’s just get inside to the dance,” I urged against his lips.

  “What’s the rush?” He kissed me deeply and leisurely, sliding his hand over my bare thighs, trying to slip between my legs. I clamped them shut and then grabbed his wrist.

  “I don’t think so, Casanova.”

  “Fine then,” he nibbled at my neck, but relented, pulling his hand from under my dress. “But maybe later we can get the driver to take us for a private ride,” he whispered in my ear.

  I pulled back. “We’re not hooking up in a limo.”

  “Why not?” he asked, still trying to be seductive. “It would be one hell of a memory to take away from tonight. Don’t you want it to be special?”

  I scooted off his lap. “I’m sorry but my idea of special isn’t hooking up with you in a limo after the dance.”

  “Or it seems anywhere,” he grumbled under his breath, but not so quietly that I couldn’t still hear him.

  “Seriously?” I raised my eyebrow at him. “Is that all tonight is about for you?”

  “No, of course not,” he breathed out heavily. “I just–we’ve been waiting a long time Shaeleigh. I know you want it to be special, and I just thought tonight it would be.” Over the course of our year and a half relationship, he’d definitely indicated on more than one occasion that he was ready to take the next step, and had even tried to push us in that direction, but he’d never once pressured me to the point that I felt uncomfortable or insecure in our relationship.

  “I want tonight to be special too, but not in that way, Jer. I’m just not ready.”

  “Yeah, okay.” His brow furrowed sullenly.

  “Let’s just have a good night, okay?” I looked at him hopefully, relieved when the downturn of his lips curled upward into a soft smile.

  “Yeah, you’re right.” He took my hand and helped me out of the limo, giving a short nod to the driver who was standing against the front of the car.

  The school gymnasium had been transformed into a glamorous, Hollywood ballroom, with our very own red carpet. As senior class president and head of the homecoming committee, I was here yesterday after school and part of this morning helping with the transformation. Looking around now, seeing everyone dressed to the nines under the soft twinkle lights, some already dancing to the beats the DJ was throwing out in the corner, I was going to go ahead and call it a success.

  Our group claimed one of the tables that skirted the dance floor, and as the guys were spotted, our table became the congregation point for the entire football team and their dates. The topic dominating conversation was the party at Mike Fisher’s following the dance. I was pretty sure if the ladies had allowed it, the guys would have skipped the dance entirely, opting to head straight there. Already they were loosening ties and unbuttoning shirts, wondering when they could get out of their dress clothes and get to the good part.

  For me though, this was the good part. I loved dances, but I certainly didn’t come to sit and watch my boyfriend stand around and talk all night with his buddies. “Come, on, let’s dance.” I grabbed Jeremy’s arm and started pulling him toward the dance floor. He gave a shrug to his buddies, like, what can I do, and then let me drag him to where other couples were already cutting loose. Several of the girls followed my lead, grabbing their dates until we packed the floor.

  Cammie was right about one thing, Jeremy loved the dress. His hands were all over my hips and stomach and ass as the music coursed through our bodies and we let go of everything but the beat and the lyrics, letting them move us. When a slow song came up, he’d pull me in close and I’d rest my head against his chest and we’d sway softly. In those perfect moments, there were no doubts or insecurities, just the comfort of him holding me.

  I just knew after tonight things between us would finally be right again. I couldn’t have suppressed my smile if I tried. I didn’t even care when it was time for the homecoming court announcements that came half way through the dance. The music stopped, and Principal Miller stepped up into the DJ booth, drawing everyone’s attention. While most of the girls on court held their breaths in anticipation, I didn’t need anything else to make this night more special. Still, when Principal Miller called Jeremy’s name and then mine, we walked hand in hand up front to accept our king and queen crowns while our classmates clapped and a few cheered and whistled. Then we lead everyone into the next song and the dance continued. Jeremy and I, along with the rest of the homecoming court, were dragged away for pictures after the song transitioned. By the time the photographer released us, Jeremy was pulling off his vest and unbuttoning his collar. I knew he was itching to get out of here.

  We didn’t even make it through one more dance before some of the other guys started gathering and making plans to bail.

  “Are you ready to go babe?”

  “I have to stay to the end. Principal Miller wants teardown done tonight and his gym back in order by morning.”

  “Can’t you stick some freshman in charge of clean-up?” He tugged on one of my curls and smiled like he thought if he was cute enough I would shirk off my responsibility.

  “I’m supposed to be in charge. I need to stay to make sure it gets done right. It shouldn’t take very long.” The dance was only an hour from ending, and we both knew the party would go all night, so it wasn’t like he was going to miss anything.

  His shoulders slumped in defeat like a little boy who didn’t get his way. “Fine, I’ll tell Matt and Josh we have to hang around.”

  While he no doubt went to sulk with the guys, I took a much needed bathroom break. As warm as it was in the gym, I’d been downing water like it was oxygen. I also needed to address the boob sweat issue I was having. Pushing open the door to the ladies room, I realized I wasn’t the only one experiencing that problem, as there were three girls shoving paper towels in their cleavage while they waited for open stalls. We all just looked at each other and laughed.

  Cammie caught me coming back out of the bathroom. “I was looking for you, hooker.” She’d disappeared, and not alone, right after the homecoming court pictures were taken.

  “And you thought I was in the boy’s locker room inside Matt’s pants?” Because I was pretty sure that was the only place she’d been looking. She gave me a guilty smile and shrugged.

  “Jeremy wanted me to tell you that he and the guys were going to catch a ride to Mike’s with Jack and leave the limo for us to meet up with them later.”

  “They left?” I looked around the gym, not spotting them.

  “Yeah, just a minute ago, while you were in the bathroom.”

  I sighed. “Okay, whatever. I guess that’s fine.”

  “Well then come on, lesbian lover. Just because we no longer have dates, doesn’t mean we can’t dance.”

  I laughed and followed her back out to the dance floor. After a few minutes it turned into a big, girls’ dance pit as we weren’t the only ones to lose our guys for the night. Some had bailed to the party, and others had just given up and were clustered at the tables.

  As the dance wound down, Principal Miller pulled Cammie and me aside. “I know we planned on doing most of the tear down and clean up tonight, but I think it’s been an exhausting night for everyone. How about if we plan to meet here tomorrow at noon and we can take care of it then.”

  We both nodded our heads in emphatic agreement. “That would be great.”

  It meant we were freed up an hour earlier than planned. We snagged a couple girls who wanted to ride with us to the party and all piled into the back of the waiting limo. A few of the girls started pulling and shaking out their hair. I was afraid even if I removed the pins, mine would stay in place, so I didn’t bother. It was a headache that could wait until morning.

  The driver pulled up out front of Mike’s house and then lowered the partition as the girls started climbing out. “Miss, what would you like me to do? I’m hired until one.” I glanced at my phone, it was eleven now.

  “If you don’t m
ind sticking around, I know I’d appreciate it.” It would mean a safe, sober ride home.

  He held up the newest James Patterson. “Don’t mind at all.”

  I thanked him and then joined my friends inside. The party was well under way, mostly seniors with a few select juniors that I guess made the cut. They all had bottles, cans or red plastic cups in their hands and the smell of alcohol permeated the house. Before I even made it to the kitchen, I’d been offered several drinks, and turned them all down. I showed up occasionally, but I didn’t partake.

  When I made it to the kitchen, Josie and Cammie had already located Josh and Matt and had planted themselves possessively on their laps. The third amigo was missing and Josh and Matt were both looking a little nervous. Josh stared at me anxiously while Matt tried to call someone on his phone. He hung up without getting through.

  I looked around and then back to the guys. “Where’s Jer?” Their eyes moved from me to each other, neither one of them answered my question.

  “Seriously, where is he?” I glanced around the room again.

  “Uh, I’m not sure,” Josh finally spoke up, scooting Josie off his lap so he could stand. “But, I’ll go find him for you. He’s around here somewhere.”

  “No, you can stay. I’ll go look for him.”

  Josh followed me out of the kitchen. “I really don’t mind getting him for ya. You can go grab a drink and sit with the girls. I’m sure your feet have got to be killing you in those shoes.”

  I turned to him, starting to get a funny feeling. “You know I don’t drink, and my feet are fine.” They’d long since gone numb. “You’re the one who should be hanging out with Josie.”

  Josh’s eyes flicked toward the stairs and I followed his gaze, my brow furrowing. “Maybe you should go check and see if he’s around back of the house. I know a few of the guys went out there.” He was trying to steer me in the opposite direction.

  “Is Jeremy out back, Josh?”

  “I don’t know. He might be,” he shrugged but couldn’t stop his eyes from going to the stairs again. It was the only confirmation I needed.